When a continent becomes unlocked, all the territories are open and neutral. Each faction must start in the warpgate and begin it's lattice from there.
Awards xp for no risk, more time to reach combat waiting for capture points. I have thought of this idea, and have seen it in other games, but didn't think it would be wise in ps2.
As Qquqq said, it would only make people have to wait before they can go into the offensive. What's fun about having to ghost capture a minimum of 4 or 5 bases, each with a capture time of 3+ minutes, before you even see your first enemy?